182 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH. AND FISHERIES. 
owing chiefly to a higher average price per bushel and a comparative 
searcity of oysters in Baltimore, to which place a large part of the out- 
put goes. The decreased yield in 1890-91 was principally due to the 
destruction of beds in the upper part of the oyster region by the exten- 
sion of the fresh water consequent upon freshets. 
Next to the oyster in value is the shad, of which 2,571,002 pounds, 
equivalent to 731,453 fish, were taken in 1890, for which the fishermen 
received $75 eyed The following year the eee eane satch was 2,556,759 
pounds, or 621,977 fish, the value of which to the fishermen was $69,160. 
In 1891 there was a bamiden able diminution in the abundance of the 
fish in the upper ae of the Potomac, although the fishing at the mouth 
of the river was regarded as very good. In both these years, however, 
the catch was much less than in 1889, which was one of the best sea- 
sons during the past decade, 868,900 fish, valued at $85,378, being 
taken. This presents a striking contrast with the condition of the 
shad fishery before the effects of artificial propagation began to be 
manifested. The present Commissioner of Fisheries, writing in 1880 
concerning this river, stated : * 
The fisheries of this river annually decreased in value and production up to the 
time of the war. The intermission which then ensued in the fishing operations on 
account of those of a martial character allowed the fisheries to recuperate, so that 
in the years immediately succeeding the war it was found that they had in a meas- 
ure recovered from their former depletion. In 1878 the minimum of production syas 
attained, during which less than 200,000 [about 186,000] shad were taken in the 
entire river. In 1879 the results of previous artificial propagation first manifested 
themselves, and there was a considerable increase in the run of shad, from which 
time the shad fisheries steadily increased until, in the season of 1880, nearly 600,000 
[582,872] were taken. 
The alewives rank next to shad in importance, and during some sea- 
sons, 1891 for instance, they have had a greater value than shad. The 
output is now considerably larger than in 1880, the bulk of the catch 
being taken with pound nets. In 1890, 7,508,416 pounds, worth $67,481, 
were obtained, and, in 1891, 7,350,635 pounds were secured, which yielded 
the fishermen $71,402. 
The decrease in the run of sturgeon is a noteworthy feature of the 
fisheries; 258,000 pounds were taken in 1880, sinee which time the cateh 
has gradually dwindled until only 60,920 pounds were caught in 1890, 
and 45,710 pounds in 1891, notwithstanding the greater demand in recent 
years as shown by the higher prices received. The striped bass is an ~ 
important fish in the Potomac, ranking next to alewives in total value 
and commanding a better price than any other species; 333,304 pounds 
were secured in 1890, the market value of which was $26,487 . Among 
the other fishes taken in the river the following are the most important, 
and in 1890 yielded the amounts stated : Blnotish pee catfish , $7,555 ; 
*The River F ae ies of r the Atl: antic States. By M: ae ul Me Done <The Fish- 
eries and Fishery Industries of the United States, sec, v, vol. 1, 
